Photographic lighting apparatus



June s, 1928. 1,672,597

c. w.' BHOSYS PHOTOGRAPHIC LIGHTING APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 10, 1927 [n verifier jll'larna y.

Patented June 5, 1928.

UNITED smrnz s PATENT m nce,

iiii' s s- 9.1. iiiw 20 mm. Y.

:eaem'oen'n-rn'm LlGHTING APPARATUS.

Original applicatiqnfiled lanuary 10,- 1927, Serial 116. 160,316. Jilvided and this application filed July 14, 11m. serial nupaolgsie. i

This invention relates to gippgrgtiis for directing and controlling, light to-be thrown;

of relatively inexpensive construction occupyi gflve y small spaee and adapted to be oint' in the studio to best pon p t g aphi subjee s, andmor I e i ulai'ly refers o i p rtab eidevieewich 5 m y be used bot fo generat ngandwiiir nt olling he 'clis ri uti n f lig t-tube used for photographic purposes.

The primary object Of his nventi n l? 1 to pr v an appara usa s mpleand xpe ive C D tIF Q OB,C9 RPIl l1g:X lIlS for g at ng as W ll a means o reflectv g an di ect ng ligh u nei subje t Q be Pho og phe s devi eing edaritsd vto rep b ipe 'ma ei t instel i i -i i a more costly character frequently used new in Phot gr ph s ies,

A h r Qbjes is t Prsiv de iii interpet s i thecl ssses ifisd, .aii ove head Panel adap d t e set itre-rims angles u panel endure meunted so as to converge inorder to properly direct and regulate the meuiit o ight th ow eg iiist i ii ieq be P o graphed, and means (ifa simple d e f t harac er wh eby th iwii ml of s p e may be ei ssted- Qthsr bj c a advantages 9f; hefpresent invention w l is'i' illy t ppeare sj t e cr p n p c ed an Wi l b s tifo h' d la me i t e ippsniisdela inswe This ppl cat on a d si iieftp li etion 6 ,31 isr ppara us, io iligfitin p togr p subj s, now pen ing -.u d the invention forming the ebi'ecl', thereof, is str ed in the anne ed rii s, i hich:

Fig. ppa t ap d or-use i ligh n iihoi'iphi subjec e biidy. i v he main eatu e 9i my n ention; n t

Fig--2- is a de ew in levation of th 40 same.

Th meii feature in the Pos bi y f providingeii-iiitei e um n tio a apte to be ad'iistebly di b Cll PQ a s jec tobe p togiafphsd, y ean o n apparatus i s mple.d sign,

p ef a y o a portabl and inexpensive character. 7 y

The s f rt fici l igh fo t k eepis tures in ph og aph c stu i g erally i ltails h ne s ty f, makin xpensi e installations as We as th ll ploym llifi p we ful i p By usi g .a numbe sf ul of e ely m de ate intensity, suitly d str bu ed p n a boar o 'c mb napissed: a y dvantage; SQ; used'fen the illuminationof av subject or the same may be 50.; placed thahit will cooperate ,P iflGfi ii Hy horizon al direction.

1 is a V .iii--s1 Yiit 0neMn- Qi my inve tio residesticn f boards,' of e portable and adjustable nature, I am able to produce an apparatus zit-the device only may be with the daylight available in properly illuminating said subject.

apparatus embodying my invention is representedin- Figs. 1 and 2,,where 10 designates a stand preferably m0vable, on

which is mounted on a vertical gpanel ll, carry mgaplurality of electric bulbs 12, 1'3, 14, 15, '16, 17,18, 19, suitably distributed rectan (ruler. series near the periuheny of the Ward-1y towards a panel. v e l 1 In this manner, the rays of lightemitted from Lhesideswcf; the bulbs Strike the panel at en angle and gre reflected thereby, in a Thus, a' subject to be photographe placed-beside the panel will be exposed to both't-helight directly issuing from the bulbs and t0 the light reflected by the panel.

point in front efiihe' Ah the upper part ii said-stand is mounted upcn its surface; In the preferred arranges merit; shewn, said bulhtare larrangediin a ie izoiita af -2.0, ca ry ng a panel- 21,-

hiqhm y becrui ed to a ume a more 01 s nsl n pe it' oii, by m ans o a worm men 22 se ured: is lld haft d; a m 23in izi shth ie it operated by means o s za k 'lever- 24;: 1 t S id: and 21's arries; plura i yof l ctric bul s 25, 26, which may beerrai gedi w c m re r ws a shown and, whi h are iiiint d nhe p ne .at an a gl for iii-. eiiti at 0 degr s, as shown, preveili e possibi ty of the bulbs remain ng p assd th the r exes i a v ic l dire tion, w

t panel 21 is in any 0 18 of its upw-grdly in ined PQSi iQDS- i t I hav eiin thasw i the bulb er bulbs e ar d spos d with t ir long tu nal es n i sub ta tially rtical i st h t er d rec e w wa dly upw rdly, a ieflse ieii 0 the intii i l sii wi i the l er belbs pfi ll fidq ll' th 1.- e

as i the yes of thezs ieict th bj c- :fi qllfi e res t i the pictu h ver) same thing happens when the subject is a picture to be reproduced and is therefore held in a clamping frame behind the surface of a glass pane. In such case, the glass surface will show a reflection of the incandes cent wire of the bulb or bulbs are vertically arranged, and said reflection causes the picture to be blurred and confused.

On the other hand, if the bulb or bulbs are arranged with their axes in any other direction but vertical, this reflection will not take place, and satisfactory pictures will beobtained. j

The bulbs carried by panel 21, may be mounted at right angle to the panel as shown, because the panel is generally set in an upwardly inclined direction, as shown, and this causes the bulbs to be arranged in a direction inclined to the vertical.

The object of panel 21 is to throw a beam of light downwardly, ahead of the device, so as to strike. for instance, various persons to be photographed in a group independently of one another.

The apparatus is intended to be placed at one side of the subject or subjects to be photographed, and it is obvious that if there are varlous members of a group facing the camera, and the apparatus is placed at one side the horizontally directed rays issuing from panel 11 would only strike the member of the group which is nearest to the device, this preventing the light from reaching the other members of the group.

In such a case the'usefulness of an inclined panel above, throwing a beam of light in an inclined direction, reaching all the members of the group becomes apparent, because the possibility of the light becoming obstructed by any one member of the group is thus entirely avoided.

The light issuing from panel 21 is also extremely useful in setting in evidence, details of a subject such as a person or a piece I of sculpture and the like, which would be lost-if side illumination only were used;-

this advantage is also of great value in the field of commercial photography where every detail of the photographed objects mustbe made apparent.

In Fig. 2, the subject is arranged with his back towards the front of the device, with the lights directed towards it from the sides slightly to the rear and from the top; this arrangement being suitable for taking a profile photograph of the subject.

By adjusting the inclination of panel 21, and by separately controlling the various bulbs, an infinite variety of lighting effects may be produced, which enable the photographer to turn out his work to the best advantage. The proper control of light is one of the essentials in modern photography if pictures of a high artistic value are to be produced, and heretofore this factor has been the chief difficulty in confronting the operators in photographic studios.

The necessity of providing ample illumination and a flexible and thorough control thereof, had led to the adoption'of expensive installations which are beyond the reach of the average studio of moderate size; my present invention makes it possible to ob tain all the desired advantages permitting the production of the highest grade of work at comparatively small expense.

As a general rule, when artificial light is used in a photographicstudio, the same but is controlled and reflected by means of reflectors or screens, the main object of which is usually to create a diffuse light effeet in order to avoid sharp reliefs and high lights in the picture. I

It has been my experience however, that while light thus reflected and diffused improves to a certain extent, the relative tone values of a picture, the necessary intensity of illumination is usually lacking, so that the work produced is not as good as would be obtained by daylight.

It is therefore of the utmost importance that the reflected light effect be retained but at the same time it is equally important that the full intensity of the light available be utilized. r a

By combining as I do, the direct light obtainable from the bulbs with the light refiected by the screens or panels, I obtain a light which is both powerful and mellow, providing an ideal condition for the taking of pictures by artificial light. "Moreover, the light is easily controllable both on account of the individual control of the bulbs and on account of the gradual control of the inclination of the upper panel made possible 1 by the gear operating mechanism illustrated. The combination of the vertical panel together with the inclinable upper panel is important in many cases as stated, especially when there is a group of persons to be photographed. The function of the inclinable panel is to throw the light between various subjects composing a group from above, so as to prevent the subject nearest the vertical panel from cutting off the light of the next subject at his side. The vertical panel has the important function of providing a horizontallyv directed illumination for the front parts of the individuals composing the group, that is, for those parts of their bodies which are not contiguous and which are not likely to overshadow one another. a The vertical panel is just as essential as the overhead panel and without one or the other,

Of course, there are no set rules for the lighting of subjects when taking a picture, and some times both panels may be used for is not projected directly upon the subject the device would be incomplete and its usefulness would be seriously curtailed.

illuminating the subject or the vertical panel or the overhead panel only may be used as the case may be.

The device is used in each case entirely according to the judgment of the photographer, the object of the device being to provide the operator with just such a means as he needs for regulating the light in various directions and from various angles.

A vertical panel or an inclinable panel only would have limitations in this respect, which are overcome by the combination shown. In view of the important character of the part played by light in the photographic art, it is desirable that a delicate system of control be available for producing changes in the various lighting effects; therefore, the worm gearing used, or its equivalent providing a gradual angular displacement of the upper panel, as well as a positive control of the position at which the panel is finally set, is a useful and important feature of the device.

The apparatus is capable of providing an intense illumination when required, toned down and distributed more uniformly by the reflecting surfaces of the panels; furthermore, the device is also suitable as stated, for depth illumination such as required in the photographing of a number of persons or objects.

From the foregoing it is seen that my apparatus represents a decided improvement in the photographic art, in providing as it does, means for using artificial light to bestadvantage, said means being of a portable and relatively inexpensive nature.

It is obvious that my invention may be altered in its various details without substantially departing from the inventive idea, and accordingly the drawings will be understood as being intended for illustrative purposes only and not in a limiting sense. Therefore, I reserve myself the right to carry my invention into practice in any Way or manner which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: p

1. Apparatus for lighting photographic subjects, comprising a panel mounted in a substantially vertical plane, an upwardly inclined additional panel mounted at the top thereof, light generating means carried by said vertical panel, and light generating means carried by Said inclined panel at points'forwardly spaced from the light gentical panel mounted thereon, another panel mounted at the top thereof, means for set-, ting said top panel at various inclinedpositions in relation to said vertical panel, and light generating means carried by said top panel at points forwardly spaced from said vertical panel.

4:. Apparatus for lighting photographic subjects, comprising a portable stand, a vertical panel adjustably mounted on a transversal pivot thereon, another panel mounted at the top thereof, light generating means carried by said vertical panel, light generating means carried by said top panel at points forwardly spaced from the light generating means carried by said vertical panel, and a worm gearing controlling the operation of said adjustable panel.

CHARLES WILLIAM BHOSYS. 

